I’m delighted to announce that Sugar Bytes are giving away one license of their brand new WOW2 filter effect to one lucky BPB reader. Read more for a short review and to learn how to enter the contest.
As always, entering the giveaway is a breeze, but before we get to that part here’s my review of the new WOW2 filter. Nothing too long or in-depth! These are my first impressions and a quick overview of the functionality to let you know what this plugin is all about.
Sugar Bytes WOW2 Review
WOW2 is an updated version of the highly acclaimed WOW filter by Sugar Bytes. Building upon the great functionality of its predecessor, WOW2 features the same easy workflow and slick interface while adding new filter types and introducing some advanced modulation features.
There’s a total of 21 different filter types to choose from, including the standard set of HP/LP/BP filters which are available in several different flavors (Moog, MS-20, etc.), as well as the somewhat more exotic comb and vowel filters. If you’re into those currently popular mid-range heavy bass sounds, you’ll know that using a vowel filter is all the rage at the moment. Pairing this one up with WOW2’s built-in Wobble Generator makes it ridiculously easy to experiment with those sort of sounds, but more on that later.
The available filters sound very good to my ears and provide a neat little toolbox of all the filter types you may need for hours and hours of sound mangling and experimentation. I can’t compare the included Moog and MS-20 models to the real thing (unfortunately!), but they do sound both warm and pleasing, and offer just enough variation to let you choose exactly the right type of filter you’d need for your effects chain.
Besides its vast array of filters, WOW2 offers seven different distortion types. You can choose between various analog overdrive or digital distortion flavors, all of which can be applied before or after the filter. Adding some analog drive before your signal hits the filter can seriously beef up the sound while preserving the original character, and I really like what Sugar Bytes have done with their analog distortion models in this context. Of course, if subtlety is not your thing, you can choose one of the digital distortion types and give your audio a harsh edge before it hits the filter (or just before it hits the output, if you prefer).
As always, modulation is where the fun really begins. Or not, if you’re a regular person instead of an audio geek such as you and me. Either way, you can modulate the filter using the built-in step filter, the good old LFO module, or the curiously named Wobble Generator which was mentioned earlier. The Wobble Generator was first introduced in Sugar Bytes’ Cyclop synthesizer and is basically an advanced LFO module which was designed as a dedicated tool for creating wobble bass sounds.
Patching up the provided modulation sources is a very simple process and you’ll be automating your filter module of choice in no time. Creating trance pads, wobble basses, evolving soundscapes and other sounds alike is a breeze with WOW2.
The interface is a treat to look at and to play around with. Beautiful and slick, yet very functional and intuitive. All frequently used parameters are easily accessible on the main screen, while some more advanced features are placed under the hood, though still quite easy to reach. I’ve had zero problems while testing WOW2 and reading the manual wasn’t at all necessary to get the plugin under control. Still, as the ancient Greeks used to say, RTFM FTW (διαβάστε το εγχειρίδιο και να κερδίσει).
WOW2 is currently priced at 99$ in the Sugar Bytes Shop. Owners of WOW (the old version) are getting a $49 discount, so that’s a nice little offer if you’re an old Sugar Bytes customer. A demo version of the plugin should be available for free download soon. And yes, one lucky BPB reader will get the full version of WOW2 for FREE!
Video Demo
Check out the WOW2 demo video:
WOW2 Giveaway
There are two ways to enter the giveaway. You can leave a comment on this article AND/OR comment on this post on BPB’s Facebook page. If you do both things, you’ll double your chances of winning a free copy of WOW2!
Your comment counts as your number in the draw. The website commenters will get their numbers first. So, if there are 10 comments in total on this article, the first Facebook comment will be number 11. I will pick the winner using the RANDOM.ORG random number generator on Wednesday, July 31st!
The winning number is number 115! The winner is alex. CONGRATULATIONS! You will receive your WOW2 license within the next couple of days!
Thanks for joining in everyone! Have fun reading BPB and expect the next giveaway very soon. :)
Please make sure that you enter your correct email address when commenting! And also, please note that only one comment per person is allowed on this page. Again, you are allowed to increase your chances of winning by also commenting on the Facebook post linked above.
Many thanks to Sugar Bytes for being so kind and offering a copy of their latest plugin for this giveaway! Good luck everyone! Thanks for reading BPB!
Links
Sugar Bytes WOW2: click here
Last Updated on August 2, 2013 by Tomislav Zlatic.
